Human kind: A Hopeful History
Why we chose this title
It may seem difficult to be optimistic about the world these days.
While we are still finding ourselves in a global pandemic, we are also looking at the growing effects of climate change.
The most frustrating part is that none of this was inevitable.
Humans have been and are at the root of these issues.
While we are told that we have been created in the image of God, we might be closer to what can be described as evil.
However, among all the evil we witness, there are stories of kindness and love.
Rather than focussing on the bad news, we can follow the example of humans who choose to do good.
Optimism starts with us.
We can be the change; we want to see.
Book Summary
It's a belief that unites the left and right, psychologists and philosophers, writers and historians. It drives the headlines that surround us and the laws that touch our lives. From Machiavelli to Hobbes, Freud to Pinker, the roots of this belief have sunk deep into Western thought. Human beings, we're taught, are by nature selfish and governed by self-interest.
Humankind makes a new argument: that it is realistic, as well as revolutionary, to assume that people are good. The instinct to cooperate rather than compete, trust rather than distrust, has an evolutionary basis going right back to the beginning of Homo sapiens. By thinking the worst of others, we bring out the worst in our politics and economics too. In this major book, international-bestselling author Rutger Bregman takes some of the world's most famous studies and events and reframes them, providing a new perspective on the last 200,000 years of human history.
About the Author
Rutger Bregman is a historian and author. He has published five books on history, philosophy, and economics.
His books Humankind (2020) and Utopia for Realists (2017) were both New York Times Bestsellers and have been translated in more than 40 languages.
Where to buy it
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